pow pão: scenes from a monday in

We've gotten into a habit of off-day grocery shopping. Yesterday was the day.

Our grocery store normally has a cart of random foodstuffs that are seriously marked down. On occasion some goodie in the cart catches our eye.

This week it was some italian wafer cookies. We've picked up a bagged version of these treats  (from the same cart) in the past. Milk & vanilla creme. They were so light and wonderful. At 50¢ a piece how could we pass them up. David originally grabbed the dark chocolate, but then I found a few more to try. Mmmmm.

In other deliciousness, David had mentioned pão de quiejo not too long ago. For those unfamiliar, it's an interesting and scrumptious Portuguese cheese bread. They're similar to my {relatively} new favorite bread: pandebono (Columbian cheese bread aka the special little breads at Rayuela and Calle Ocho in NYC). It's chewy and gooey inside and crusty on the outside.

our {remaining} pão

Last night I whipped some up with the tapioca flour we had left over from our last attempt at these little breads. They were heavenly. {for my dinner i split a couple and topped them with fried eggs with onions and green peppers...fabulous}

Pão de Quiejo

makes about 20-25 little breads

2 1/4 cups tapioca flour
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup whole milk
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, freshly and coarsely grated
1 tsp kosher or sea salt

NOTE: feel free to try with different cheeses.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together the tapioca flour and salt. Whisk to combine.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and oil until scalding over medium. Turn off the heat. Slowly stir in the tapioca flour. The dough will be very dry and lumpy.

Let the dough cool slightly. Add the eggs, one at a time, breaking up the eggs with a spoon and kneading them into the dough. Mix until just incorporated.

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface. Lightly knead the grated cheese into the dough. The dough should be very tacky and lumpy. Don’t overmix.

Using oiled hands, pull off ping-pong ball-sized pieces of dough. Roll gently them between your hands to smooth. Place them on prepared baking sheet.

Bake 20 minutes or until the outside starts to firm. Reduce the temperature to 325° F. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes.

Serve warm.

from: globetrotter diaries

I came up about a quarter cup short on the flour and adjusted the other quantities accordingly. Halving a recipe is easy enough. I wouldn't recommend weird adjustments like mine, even though the breads came out just fine.

Next time I think I'm going to try subbing goat cheese for the cheddar. And in the meantime I will continue to search for a pandebono recipe...